5 Tips to Organize Your Life & Free Printable Planner Pages

I am a list person in every way. A list person, a goal person, a planner person. You might say I am a little bit Type A. Just a little bit. (Ahem-crazy.) Anyway, I love planning and organizing my life. Let’s talk about my 5 favorite Tips to Organize Your Life and then I’ve got some free printable planner pages and calendars for you too. AND…a giveaway at the bottom of this post along with more tips from other bloggers.

I’m certainly no expert on this and I certainly have wild and crazy days. I’m a mom to 4 boys, active on the PTA, help out at school, busy with church jobs and like to do things with friends. Life can get soooo hectic. Sound familiar? So, here are my non expert top tips to organize your life.

5 Tips to Organize Your Life:

#1: Plan out your week. Find a time that works well for you to sit down at the beginning of the week and schedule in all the things you have going during the upcoming week. I write down all of my activities and the kids’ activities on a planner page. Hubby’s too if they affect me. I even remind myself of things that are recurring every week because inevitably I will forget something if I don’t.

On a good week I will do meal planning during this time as well. I’ll also write notes about things I need to remember for various days like “send cookies to school” or whatever the need is. The truth is that writing it down stores a lot of this in my brain so that I don’t even have to refer to the planner all that often, but it’s there if I need it.

Here is a Free Printable Planner Page with the 5 week days broken down by the hour. This can be very handy when planning. There is room at the top and the bottom for note like meals or birthdays:

#2: Make a list of weekly goals. While you are planning your week, think about the things you want to accomplish during that week. For example, I might think “I need to call and schedule Dr. appts for the kids and I want to make my maxi skirt” among other things. Write a master list for the week of the things you need to do. Keep it reasonable and reachable, but having these things written down will give you direction during the week when you are trying to get it all done.

#3: Each day make a to do list. I love it when I actually do this-I’m not always consistent with it. But when I do, it helps me a ton. Start out the morning by writing down the things you need to accomplish that day. (Remember you can refer to your weekly goals list to remember things you need to do.) Don’t go crazy with what you write on this list. Be realistic but honestly evaluate what you need to get done or hope to get done and write it down. For me, I like to write things that I know I am going to do whether they are on the list or not because it feels good to check off a few easy things. It’s also ok to include non-traditional things like “Make My Kids Laugh” or other goals that you want to remember.

Then, as you go throughout your day, check off as many things as you can. When you get to the end of the day, if you haven’t accomplished everything, that’s ok! Move the things you didn’t get to on your list to the next day and try to get to them tomorrow.

I’ve created some pages to help with this as well. It’s got all of the days of the week here so that you can write your to do list and then easily move things to the next day if needed. Print these off if they will help you!

#4: Keep an eye on the bigger picture. Don’t just pay attention to what’s going on for the week ahead. You need to have an idea of what the month holds in store and what to expect next month. Be aware of any birthdays coming up, vacations you are planning or other large events. I like to keep a couple of calendars around for this so that I can easily see what is coming up. I mostly worry about the big things at this point and get down to the nitty gritty in my weekly planning.

Here are Free Printable Calendar Pages for 2014 for you. Use these to plan out your months.

#5: Take time for you. This may sound cliche but I am a big believer in it. As busy and crazy as my days can be, I try to make sure I do the things that will recharge me. For me that means getting enough sleep, spending time with friends, having weekly date nights with my husband and reading a good book often. Do what it takes for you to be happy. Then life will flow so much more smoothly and you will have the energy you need to keep going!

Hope those help a little. Good luck.

Still looking for more ideas? Check out these tips from other bloggers:

I am totally a list person. I love the feeling of checking or crossing things off a list. The only bad thing is once I cross something off there is always something to add to the list. I have yet to find a good way to stay organized that works for me. Maybe this will be it!!!!

I would choose the Weekly Schedule Pad. Although I like to think I’d use a planner, as I really need one, however I need something that I can see from my most used spaces in the house. Planners tend to get tucked away. These note pads could be placed anywhere I needed them. I like the colors, very bold, the lined memo lines, and how it’s divided into days. It’s a nice way to make quick notes about what needs to be done. It’s also a nice way to quickly jot down any “firsts” or special moments I want to keep track of for later use in my Daughter’s baby books. Personally, 2014 is about taking daily steps and making daily changes to become closer to the meaning of what a Proverbs 31 Wife is. This is something that means so very much to me, to my family, and to my husband. Anything that can help me reach this/these very important goals and steps, is something I would like to investigate and use!

I would choose the life planner – signature stripes. With my husband getting a new hip in a couple of week this would help keep everything together until we are back to normal again. Plus I think once I start writing things done I would be able to keep at it everyday and would keep us both organized.

I am so happy to have found your website. I am in no way organized so finding someone who is and they are willing to share-wonderful. This will definitely help me keep one of my New Years resolutions. Thank you Amber! I would chose the weekly pad-Oh what a week.

I would definately get the Life Planner in the Mermaid. I love it! I have always used a planner and theirs seems so neat because of the layout and all the extras to help stay organized! All of their stuff is AWESOME!

I love the Picture This! life planner. I love having pictures of my kids around and since my planner would be filled mostly of things with them, it’d be perfect. :) I have been so bad with lists lately. I need to do better. Love the post!

I’m a planner junkie! I LOVE them! Now Im totally lovin’ these Erin Condren planners!
I really like the taffy stripes! Thanks for introducing me to such a cool product!
(Plus must make time to sew in the new year!)

Love the life planner – viva espana watercolor. So awesome! I love planners too and have tons of to do lists all over. I’m totally a planner and list person. Redoing my calendar each month is a highlight for me – just ask my husband. :-)

Game Time Ladies / Gentlemen! Thank you Amber for doing this Giveaway for all of us! It’s hard to choose just one because all of the products/designs are awesome, but I would choose the Life Planner for sure! What Style? They’re all so great – can’t narrow it down to one at the moment! :) Thank you again! Good Luck everybody!

When I actually take the time to organize my day/week I accomplish so much! I just finished reading a great self-help book called “The Now Habit” and seriously this is a life altering book! And well I now need to break out with my planner (if it is still in date).

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Hi! I am Amber. I'm first and foremost a mom to 4 boys. When I am not being a mom or a wife I love to bake, I love to sew, I love to read and I don't like to sit still. Welcome to Crazy Little Projects where I show off my latest crazy projects and show you how you can do them too. Thanks for visiting! [Read More …]

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What does this mean? It means I believe in Jesus Christ and his gospel and strive every day to live it. It means I value family above all else. And it means I want to be kind to others always. Let me tell you more here!